Friday, April 18, 2014

Book Review: The Golden Apple (Dark Forest) by Michelle Diener

The Golden Apple

by

Michelle Diener

Pub March 24th 2014

by Author Self pub

ARC for Review

Summary

Kayla's world has been turned upside-down . . .

Her father has made her the prize in a deadly, impossible tournament, and Kayla has retaliated in the only way she knows how; by choosing her champion beforehand. But taking control of the outcome changes the game completely, and when the real reason behind the strange test becomes apparent, Kayla realizes not just her life, but her entire kingdom is at stake.

Rane's honor is torn in two...

In order to save his brother, Rane will do whatever he has to--including deceive and betray a princess. He knew nothing about this tournament would be easy, but when it turns into a deeper, far more sinister game, Rane is forced to see it through to the end, or leave his brother at the mercy of their enemy.

Now their fates are entwined, and they must venture into the deep, dark forest together . . .

Kayla and Rane are bound to one another by an enchantment and Kayla's actions. But the sorcerer forcing them to do his will may have miscalculated, because no-one comes out of the Great Forest unchanged. No-one.

The Golden Apple is loosely based on the fairy tale The Princess on the Glass Hill

The Way I See It

Okay so I’m going to be a bit brutal when I say this but…I’m not sure why I was so drawn to this book, but I was. It is based on a fairy tale but the author points out that it is very loosely based on said fairy tale. Being familiar with the fairytale I’d say I totally agree. the premise was unique and it held a lot of potential. Well, have you ever heard anyone say the proof is in the pudding? Sadly there's stuff in the pudding alright, but the evidence is not very great. I loved, loved, loved, this story while Rane and Kayla were together, but when they split up I was pretty disappointed. There isn't a cliffhanger ending but there is also zero resolution. I love book series, I enjoy reading all of the great details. I know all of the secrets don’t get revealed till the very end, but I like to see some progress. Unfortunately Rane and Kayla are left back at square one and to me it felt like every sacrifice they made was for naught.

T-ournament, many have come from afar to prove their worth to the fine princess.
H-ealing, Kayla finds herself knocking on deaths door yet a magical tool will bring her back from the darkness.
E-nchantment, Kayla must set out with her betrothed and arch nemesis otherwise their sanity could be at risk.

G-rave, Rane has made a huge mistake but there is nothing else he could've done. His brother is the one on the line.
O-pportunity, Kayla has always had a strong will and she does not shy away from danger.
L-inger, wild magic is everywhere it seems to have found Kayla and Rane.
D-esperation, under their enchantment they must finish their quest, nothing else matters.
E-scape, more than once Kayla and Rane are faced with danger they will do what it takes to protect each other.
N-ight, dark and full of terrors there are things that come to life and danger lurks everywhere.

A-dventure, Kayla is discovering things about herself that have been kept away her whole life.
P-rize, Kayla was given away along with a valuable treasure that holds the key to Rane’s loved one.
P-ressure, the gem they were supposed to obtain is in Kayla’s possession for a moment before Rane will do what he can to protect her.
L-ove, these two have been through a lot the time has come to stop avoiding their feelings.
E-vade, their greatest threat has run for now. Soon the day will come that they will have to face him again.

Don't get me wrong I did enjoy it just not as much as I would have if they made some progress. Having them back at square one was kind of meh for me. I’m looking forward to seeing where this series is going. As I said earlier, this series has great potential and this might be a small stepping stone. There are a lot of mysteries without answers, I’m looking forward to finding them.

2 comments:

Not like an abrupt ending cause they were able to lift the enchantment but...They go through so much stuff and find out some pretty amazing things yet nothing really comes of it. By the end they are still after Rane's main focus, the bad guy is out there and we don't know why he sent Rane and Kayla on this quest. By the end I was like hmm oookay this was good but give me a little more. I was a little disappointed but you know what they say about different strokes... Any who I'm hoping to continue this series being a curious kitty and all that. LOL sorry to chat your ear off!!